I conquered the French skill tree!
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After 60 days I finally did it!! Without failed, I started playing this educational app on my phone exactly two months ago and it helped me tremendously! I started taking French 101 this May in my school. At first it was very foreign to me, but I love the language! At the beginning I am having trouble understanding it. I tried listening to French radio and reading French grammar books but my progress was very slow. And ever since I discovered Duolingo, my French vocab skyrocketed! Really a great way to learn a new language. Now I have no issue understanding a French article! I think right now I am at French 201 already XD
Thank you team Duolingo and keep up the great job!
56 Comments
I'm curious. Seeing someone who has a 1098 day streak, with level 25 in French. May I enquire your story? How do you use duolingo, and how else do you learn French? Have the things you've done led to fluency in French? (and I don't mean just conversationally, up to business level fluency) Last but not least, any advice for someone who is seeking business level fluency, beyond using duolingo?
Sincerely, atsquishy
I've finished my tree in Spanish, and trust me, Duolingo on it's own won't get you fluency.
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I know people with a French minor in college that don't feel fluent. It takes time.
You are absolutely right, I know people who majored french in college and some others who teach in those colleges who are simply far from native fluency
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Samsta is right also I disabled oral practice on Duolingo so the only chance I can practice French communication skills is in my class with my teacher. No way for a beginner to be fluent in French in such a short time unless you have really close friends or relatively that speak with you daily. Duolingo is a great start for learning basic grammar and vocab. But to be fluent in French that will normally take years if you are not a polyglot!
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Congratulations! As a language teacher myself (but not of beginners) I think Duolingo is by far the best method, and fun too. I am working on Spanish and can begin reading in the original the literature I love. But you did it in 60 days. WOW that must be a record. Toutes mes félicitations, vous êtes très doué!
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Bonjour Madame! Merci beaucoup pour votre complément! I don't think so. I think there are many people out there completed a language tree here in duolingo in much lesser time. Anyway thank you very much for your kind words. Prends soins de vous!
so if the french tree is similar to the spanish tree you did about one module per day, right? i figured for me that this is about as much as i want to do. sure, you can breeze through the tree quicker, but i don't think that the learning effect would be the same (too much information stuffed in too little time). any feedback from other duolingoers?
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Well, firstly thanks to the dude above for sharing the link. I just went there and took a quick look. I think different people have different learning preferences. See whether which method suits you.
Secondly let me tell you, my target is not just to "breeze through the tree" and that's it. I will practice on to strengthen the 1848 french words( hopefully #teamDL won't stop at this no. :). Personally when I first learn French a couple months ago, I was very frustrated that I really don't understand so many phrases and how the way French language "operates". And if I go and read all those modern french grammar books, it will be very tedious and I really can't stick to it for long. Ever since I chance upon Duolingo, I have the urge to discover as many words as possible. And I think Duolingo is a fantastic way to START learning a new language through "trial and error". I don't have to read up all the 200+ pages of grammar rule books, instead I can just keep on practicing sentences here on Duolingo. And right now I can firmly assured you that I have a much clearer/better picture now about the rules of the language without having to read all those rigid adverb, imperative or pluperfect rules on the books.
Furthermore I think the most important thing about completing the tree like I did is that, once I encounter a new word at first sight, I knew that it will definitely stay at the back of my head for a period of time. Like this, if one continues to practice on (diligent enough) or even start reading passages, it might ring any bell if you see the same word. And it will further strengthen in your mind. After seeing a couple of times, it will automatically stick in your mind forever. If not, just keep on trial and error. This way I think is more efficient for voracious learners. Anyway no harm to learn french slow and steady for leisure :) Btw same applies for Spanish I think..? So... just KEEP CALM N PRACTICE ON!
Currently I'm trying what olimo did for French--earn a full stack of coins per day, i.e., more than 100 points is the way I'm defining it. She wrote about her first "language tree" on duolingo here: http://olimo.livejournal.com/208893.html . (Don't let the first paragraph throw you if you don't read Russian; it says the same thing as the first paragraph in English. If you do read Russian, her link to an earlier description of duolingo, written after only a few weeks of visiting here, is definitely worth reading. http://olimo.livejournal.com/206985.html )
My next tree will go slower; The French tree was complete at level 13 or 14 (how soon we forget! ;)), but I would rather have gone slower and have finished at a higher level, so as to have practiced more. Right now I'm going through the tree from the top again, practicing wherever a module does not show as gold.
Completing a module and then reviewing somehow for a day before the next module sounds pretty good. Maybe always going back to earlier modules that do not show up gold, before advancing, would be a good way to review.
I don't know how olimo balanced finishing modules against just practice, so as to finish her tree in 3 months, but that seems like a good span of time for it.
wow a full stack of coins a day. that's in my early stage (not being able to translate in the immersion section) a lot of vocab repetitions. and i wouldn't have a problem with it, if i could repeat the words i really need to refresh. (as i wrote in a suggestion here: http://www.duolingo.com/comment/825089). but it sure is a goal to shoot for! thanks for the feedback and the link to olimos entry, i read the english version a my russian is nonexistent :-/ maybe the next big step for duolingo? ;)
You're welcome. (I voted up your suggestion.) So far duolingo has made it very clear that they will not be doing Russian or any other new beta languages. (Quel dommage ! Or for you Spanish types, ¡Qué lástima! I had to dig back among the cobwebs fifty years for that Spanish--I hope it's right! :)) They intend to implement some kind of user interface for us to add languages / lessons. It will be interesting to see how it works.
congratulations! i finished the german skill tree a month or so ago. i can handle some daily life needs but i still a long way to go :) anyway, keep up the good work!
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Thank you chimera! My philosophy is actually to expose to all kinds of foreign French vocabs to me first then I start to maintain it by practice. Hence for the past two months on average I spend about 3-4hours daily on Duolingo. Writing down all the new vocab on the paper and I think that has helped me greatly! Same here! To be fluent in a language is no easy work. I make use of my time when I commute around I will try to finish a Strengthen Skill wherever I go. All the best to your German! Prost! XD
vous etes tres bonnes1 c'est une nouveau record sur Duolingo, je pense. felicitation et peut etre vous peuvent etre connu d'etre un vrais parleur de francais!
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Thank you very much for your french reply hahas I know 90% of the meaning of your message! :) Yes I will definitely go to France one day and have a heart to heart conversation with the locals. À bientôt!
That's great! Yeah it's crazy how many words you can learn at a time on duolingo.
Congratulations! I thought that German would be the most difficult of the languages offered, but French is proving to be a real thorn. The audio is especially troublesome. Everything sounds the same to me. :-(
I completed A level French a couple of months ago and i will now be going to uni to continue the study of the language, all the mutes are just something to get used to, it just takes time to get used to its little quirks but once it clicks, you will think it is very easy, but it is worth the time you have to dedicate to it, i have been doing for 8 years now, so if you feel like giving up, don't, the reward of your effort is amazing!!! :) bonne chance!
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Exactly man! When I first started learning the language, it is also really hard for me to comprehend what they are saying. Maybe because of all the "s" behind and yet they are all pronounced the same way or all the mute "h" and liaisons, so that makes it difficult to take the first step. As you practice more then you will familiarise your self with the beauty of French! But you will have to be consistent! All the best dude!
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Thank dude! Ya great idea the team really take the feedbacks seriously. Can't wait to see the upcoming updates and improvements! Duolingo will only gets better as the day passes by.
I did French and Spanish both of them at the same time in exactly 11 days and it took me 11 levels to get there, no sure why just 11
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Wow impressive! Did you have any language background before you join duolingo? If no thats completely unbelievable to finish two language tree in 11days! You must be a hyper-polyglot! hahas ..
Thank you Tony, I think is because I just took all the shortcuts, yes in fact I am a polyglot and I am doing duolingo because it is fun and because I keep motivating my own students. Keep it up Tony, you did a great job. The point here is not to do it in 11 or 60 or 40, the point here is to do it every day and that's what's amazing. That's how I approach any language I've ever learned. I don't stop until I speak fluently and I translate it at least at the intermediate level, then I take it slow but I still keep practicing the language. Something I learned the hard way is that some people will always try to discourage you or "help you" calling themselves professors and teachers, stay away from them if you really want to give a try to develop your language skills, they are nothing but a fraud. Forget about words " you can't say that or That's incorrect", you have to communicate, exchange, experience and breath the language. If you have doubts, listen to a song, read a fragment of a book that talks about the topic, try to watch a movie with subtitles, chat with a well educated native speaker and ignore those so called experts trying to teach you regional terms, that's not the language. That 's the best way to never learn it. Right below I will past a link, give it a try you might like it and it might take your language skills to the next level and stay away from the self-called professors, teachers, Phds, etc that bottom line they just speak their own tongue well and have ever translated or done anything professional with several languages at the highest level: http://www.lyricstraining.com/search?time=1379284475
Congratulations！Duolingo is a splendid website to learn languages.however as a chinese student, french is just a hobby for me. So I can't spend too much time on it.Acutally I have kept studing english in another web called shanbay for 300 days. These are both good website worth spending time. French is absolutely a beautiful language and you're a fantastic example to make me keep on working!
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Yes I am actually from Tsingtao and came to Singapore for almost a decade already. All the best!
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Hahas yes keep practicing your French if you are really interested in the language! But I think english is more important to master first! When you have a good command of english, learning French for leisure really shouldn't be a problem for a competent english speaker! :D
Congratulations! One day, I aim to conquer it as well. What with work etc. it can be hard to go on Duolingo everyday, but I do try (just lost a 2-week streak, I'm afraid). Never got on with French at school, but now I aim to be relatively fluent and to go and work out there. I hope you're as successful with your Spanish and German as you have been with French!
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Congratulations! I'm approaching the level 10. Can you tell me how many levels in the French skill tree? I started the challenges on July 31, but I could not spend 4 hours per day to complete the tree diagram. I only spend half an hour to an hour by weekday. On the weekend, I can spend more time. I don't think I can complete it in two months.
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Hi! Thanks for dropping by! I don't quite get your question, basically you just have to complete all the skills in order to achieve the so call "skill tree" which is the owl with the French flag. Level-wise is about your skill points, the more you practice the more skill points you earn? Hopefully I had answered your question. And by the way, I didn't spend 4hours each day just solely on Duolingo. Maybe in weekends I can set aside this amount of time on reading French books while practicing Duolingo since right now I am actually taking French modules in school. Otherwise in weekdays I also have a busy schedule. It is all about how you utilise your time, for me, I try to practice whenever I can such as my daily commute on bus & train. In stead of crushing candies and staring into space, I spend my time on Duolingo. :D Good luck man!
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Thank you. I am curious to know how many levels because it says I have almost completed the level 9 but I found I am in the middle of the skills tree. I hope to count how many days I can conquer the tree! Thanks for letting me know I do not need to spend 4 hours per day. Cheers : ))
Envy- I still have so much to go! But congrats none the less you are THE GREATEST!!!
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HAHAHA! alright you're hilarious.. Thanks for the ridiculously exaggerated compliment ^^
That's amazing!! I'm still at the beginning of the tree but already I find myself starting to formulate new sentences with the vocab I learned that makes sense!!!! It's an amazing app. Many thanks to the creators of this website. Funny thing tho is I found this program by trying to find Japanese apps haha... if only they had Japanese.
Good job! Certainly beats my 6-months-and-I'm-half-way-through-the-skill-tree ;)
Hmm. Please read this ok? I took the liberty of editing your post for correctness according to the rules of syntax and semantics to the best of my knowledge in the English language. I do not know what your native tongue is TonyOng and this editing job may not be letter perfect. That being expressed, I think you would do well to also take/use/learn from an English module of some language learning program in my humble opinion.Ok? I mean you no offence and you are doing wonderfully all things considered. After this sentence you can read my edit of your post if you wish(Take care and God bless).==> After sixty days, I finally did it! Without failing! I started playing this educational computer application on my phone exactly two months ago. It helped me tremendously! I started learning French 101 during May at the school that I attend. At first it was quite difficult, but, I love the language! At the beginning, I had trouble understanding it. I tried listening to French radio and reading French grammar books, but, my progress was very slow. After I discovered Duolingo my ability to understand French was greatly improved! This learner friendly program is really a great way to learn a new language. Now I have no issue understanding the text of a French newspaper article! I think at this point I am at French 201 already XD.
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No offense taken :) .. please pardon my "singlish" okay? I know I do not have a superior mastery of my second language and much more hard work is needed but I am just trying to make sense to you guys here in Duolingo. I sincerely thank you for your time and suggestions. Good luck with your Spanish.
...so for some reason I feel great desire to share that I conquered the French skill tree today also, but it took me around 100 days :) (I obviously took more relaxed approach.) I must say that I'm quite prone to having obssesions, but this is the best obssesion I've ever had, although I'm glad it's over ( for now ! ) Finishing skill tree doesn't take you to the level of fluency but it gives you a great base for grammar and vocabulary. Also, I must add that great addition to Duolingo is Michel Thomas, his tapes are AMAZING. So cheers to everyone and happy learning :)
